Brent crude oil prices rose above $55 a barrel on Monday, trading at a fresh 16-month high, on rising prospects of a tightening market after OPEC members agreed on a landmark deal to cut production last week.

Monday’s gains take the rally since the agreement was struck on Wednesday to 19 percent for Brent, the biggest jump in almost eight years, and 16 percent for U.S. crude.

Brent crude oil futures LCOc1, the global benchmark used to trade oil, soared to their highest since July 2015 to $55.33 a barrel. It last traded at $55.01 a barrel.

WTI crude oil CLc1 traded up 50 cents, also 1 percent, at $52.18 a barrel.

“OPEC sentiment continues to support oil markets. Speculative short positions are still at elevated levels and as more traders unwind these positions they could trigger more support for oil prices,” said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, quoted by Reuters.

The OPEC deal has given speculators impetus to increase bets on higher oil prices. Weekly data from the InterContinental Exchange on Monday showed investors had raised net long positions on Brent to the highest level in four weeks.

Autor: Bogdan Tudorache

Active in the economic and business press for the past 26 years, Bogdan graduated Law and then attended intensive courses in Economics and Business English. He went up to the position of editor-in-chief since 2006 and has provided management and editorial policy for numerous economic publications dedicated especially to the community of foreign investors in Romania. From 2003 to 2013 he was active mainly in the financial-banking sector. He started freelancing for Energynomics in 2013, notable for his advanced knowledge of markets, business communities and a mature editorial style, both in Romanian and English.